The confident Jackson had bet on a woman in short pants, but she was knocked out by the other woman and that was the end of the bet. After a small episode, he finally returned home.
"We're here, along with the bet it's a total of 600 dollars!" After stopping the taxi, the driver pointed at the taximeter and stated the amount after adding the bet.
"You're lucky!" Jackson touched his pocket with a confused look, but his face turned cold because his damn wallet was missing.
"What happened?" Jackson's face was solemn, and he suddenly remembered that maybe he lost it somewhere, which he couldn't recall.
After careful reflection, the more he thought about it, Jackson smiled. He had his credit card on his cellphone, so he paid first and then thought about where he might have left his wallet.
"The bet was good," Jackson said with a smile after getting his things out of the car.
He was thinking of preparing some food, then going out at night to have some fun with his cars. At least he would do something fun until he trained at school.
…
After taking a shower and eating something, Jackson decided to go out for a night drive; he wanted to do it because this was the way he normally distracted himself.
Tonight was no exception, he felt bored, few things pleased him and, as he was used to the adrenaline of fights to the point of feeling intoxicated by it, it was complicated for him to find peace by staying home all the time.
Up until now, the only things that gave him real satisfaction considering the high doses of adrenaline would be races. Although he was certainly in very few of them, he had to find more hobbies before entering school.
He would resort as a last measure to extracurricular activities, but for now he would try to fulfill other things that made him curious.
For some time, Jackson drove through the streets and thought about his future. After a long while he wanted a drink and looked to his right to see a minimarket. He stopped and parked his Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster, and this time he took a wad of bills. He shoved it into his pocket before walking toward the minimarket and entering.
Jackson saw a boy and a man with dark blond hair talking to a Hispanic cashier.
He ignored them and bought a few bags of chips, candy, and cold drinks before going to the counter and leaving them there while saying: "Hey, man. Do you think you could sell me a pack of cigarettes?"
"The minimum age to buy them is eighteen years old, are you that age?"
Jackson left several bills on the counter and said: "Let's assume I am, no one's going to bother you with this and you, in turn, will get a good tip."
The Hispanic cashier looked at Jackson and grunted before throwing him some packs of cigarettes.
Jackson grabbed a bag and placed all the contents inside, then he turned around and walked toward the exit.
"Hey, I got here first. I just want my pizza."
Jackson turned toward the man and narrowed his eyes while saying: "Hey, man, do I know you?"
The man looked at Jackson and thought for a moment before saying, "Who are you, kid?"
Jackson stared at him and asked, "Who are you to ask me that?"
After this unfortunate conversation, Jackson left the minimarket and walked toward the supercar. He put most of the things inside and stepped out to get some fresh air while drinking his beverage.
The blond man paid for his pizza, still thinking about what Jackson had said to him, while leaving the Mini Mart.
Jackson was leaning against the wall trying to smoke a cigarette when he saw the kid, who seemed to be his age, paying for a Pepto Bismol in his hands.
The blond-haired man left the supermarket and sat on the curb, watching the scene while eating his pizza.
"Don't you want one?" Jackson looked at the miserable man in front of him and believed for a moment that he looked worse off than he did.
"No."
Jackson smiled, drank his beverage in silence while wondering if this was really how he thought it was.
Smoking was disgusting, he held back a lot not to cough on the first puff of smoke and was about to throw the cigarette away, but then he remembered the man who seemed to have looked at him and didn't want to seem like someone who was just experimenting even though that was exactly what he was doing.
Everything was peaceful, until the boys who had entered the minimarket came out pushing the kid who was speaking Spanish with the worker earlier.
Jackson didn't know if he wanted a life like this, where he tried everything just to get away from martial arts. He definitely didn't want to be like those idiotic boys who had just walked into the minimarket, and he also didn't want to ruin his body by smoking cigarettes.
"What the hell are you doing? Why did you snitch on me in front of the worker?" An Asian boy pushed the kid Jackson had seen earlier speaking Spanish with the worker.
"I…"
"He thought we were in college."
"I didn't know you were buying beer, sorry." The kid replied, quite scared by the Asian boy's violent attitude.
But as expected, for the boys who had been snitched on, an apology wasn't enough and they pushed the kid who had innocently snitched earlier.
"Ha, ha, ha!"
"Yeah, let's go."
"What do you have in the bag?"
"What is it? Pepto."
"Shit, someone has diarrhea."
"It's Pepto Bismol for my grandmother, give it back."
The Asian boy said: "Is it for your grandma? Shit, I'm sorry."
"Hey, you want it? Take this…"
Jackson watched all of this from afar while drinking his beverage, completely uninterested. Honestly, he would also be angry if that kid had snitched on him earlier while he was trying to buy cigarettes, even if he had bribed the minimarket worker.
"Hey, kid, I do want a cigarette." A homeless woman said upon seeing how calmly Jackson was taking the situation.
Jackson looked at her and coldly said: "You can go to hell."
The homeless woman looked at him angrily and fell silent. After this, Jackson looked at the group while they pushed the kid toward a car.
The blond man stood up and said: "Hey, man, be careful with the car."
The Asian boy and his group said: "Do you have a problem, old man?"
The blond-haired man said: "Yeah, that's my car."
The Asian boy snickered and said: "What are you going to do about it?"
The kid covered in Pepto looked silently and Jackson laughed while unconsciously exhaling a puff of smoke as he watched this entire series of events.
The Asian boy looked at him and said: "You think something is funny, asshole?"
Jackson smiled and pointed at himself while saying: "Surely you're not talking to me, right?"
The Asian boy mocked him and asked: "And what if I am?"
"That would be unfortunate…" Jackson closed his eyes for a moment and told himself that he had stayed away from fights. If he now made a move against those idiots, there would be no point in having stayed away from martial arts and it wouldn't be fair to those who would be affected.
The blond man who had stood up declared: "Hey, you guys are talking to me now."
"What did this bum just say?" The Asian boy asked mockingly, completely forgetting about Jackson and focusing on the haggard-looking man in front of him.
Only then did a fight break out, and Jackson, who was trembling so as not to lose control, took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he watched the martial arts of the man in front of him and unconsciously murmured: "Tang Soo Do… How does this old man know the Karate of that Korean dojo?"
The martial art Tang Soo Do was a style his uncle Terry taught him many years ago, he learned it to perfection and when he was about to send him to South Korea to learn more, he joined Boyka so he could train him in more diverse martial arts.
But of course he knew Tang Soo Do, since he also knew how to fight that way.
Even so, to be more sure of his assumptions, he wanted to see more of the fight until suddenly everything ended and the police took the blond-haired man away.
Jackson sighed and said while throwing the cigarette to the ground: "This tastes like shit."
"Hey, man, thanks."
"I didn't do anything." Jackson replied while finishing his drink.
The kid still said: "I'm Miguel Díaz, what's your name?"
Jackson exhaled and said: "Jackson. What do you want?"
Miguel was surprised and asked: "Can I call you Jack? Like the player?"
Jackson narrowed his eyes and asked in confusion: "What are you talking about?"
Miguel, instead, said: "I live not too far from here. I need to buy Pepto Bismol for my grandma. If you want, we can talk there, I'm in a bit of a hurry."
Jackson nodded and said: "I don't have anything better to do anyway. Hurry up."
Miguel smiled and bought the Pepto Bismol again before returning; he wanted to walk when Jackson pointed at his sports car and said: "Take off your shirt, clean your hair, and take my jacket."
"Is that yours?" Miguel couldn't believe Jackson had a Lamborghini as a vehicle and got a little scared thinking about dirtying it.
But he didn't have time to think much because Jackson had thrown his jacket at him, now wearing only his T-shirt, and said: "Get in when you're changed."
Miguel nodded quickly and changed, then got into Jackson's Lamborghini.
They soon arrived at the apartment complex where Miguel lived and under his insistence, Jackson was quickly taken to his home to thank him.
Miguel entered the apartment saying: "Follow me, you'll love the hot chocolate my mom makes."
Jackson looked inside and followed Miguel. At that moment he had nothing better to do, so he didn't think it was bad to clear his mind while getting to know this boy better, who could even become a future friend of his.
Miguel was unaware of Jackson's thoughts and shouted: "Mom, I'm back!"
At that moment, an attractive woman with tanned skin came out of the kitchen and asked after seeing Jackson greeting her stiffly, not knowing how to act in front of the mother of an acquaintance: "Miguel, what happened?"
Miguel told her what happened at the Mini Mart and introduced Jackson: "This is Jackson! We're friends."
Jackson gave Miguel a strange look and Miguel coughed and looked at him meaningfully, then looked at the woman and smiled kindly while saying: "Yes, my name is Jackson. Nice to meet you."
The woman smiled and said: "I'm Carmen, it's a pleasure to meet one of Miguel's friends. Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Jackson looked at Miguel and said: "I don't know… I don't think it would be very appropriate…"
Carmen shook her head and said: "It's no problem. It's a pleasure."
Jackson sighed and said: "Then, thank you."
Carmen smiled and told Miguel in Spanish: "Go clean yourself up and get ready for dinner."
Miguel nodded and said: "Jackson, come with me."
Jackson sighed again and walked behind Miguel, following him into this house he had arrived at still not quite knowing how.
Miguel left him in his room and went to shower before returning and asking: "Do you go to the school near here?"
Jackson leaned against the wall while using his cellphone and said: "I'll transfer to the nearby school, do you study there?"